BSOD - Win XP Pro SP2 IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

[Splash-X]

I'm normally pretty good about solving problems but this one has me stumped. I built a friends computer and it has run perfect for quite some time in an office setting. It has Win XP Pro SP2 that is part of a Active Directory Domain. The computer is nearly a year old and has had zero problems to date.

Recently the person tried to install a digital camera but he claims the setup fails and he could never get it to work. That same day he started to have the computer simply reboot on him. Disabling the Auto Restart on System Failure found the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error. I've seen the IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL before and is usualy caused by faulty drivers.

I've never seen the IRQL version so I took the minidump files in a hope that someone may be able to read them and see if it is a drive or if it is hardware.

The minidumps can be found at:
http://www.splash-x.com/minidump.zip


I don't suspect faulty hardware because the main has run excellent until the Digital Camera/BSOD problem.

Please Help,

Thanks in Advance!

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

Most of your minidumps crash at NTFS.sys. This is the Windows file system. They have bugchecks of 24, and 8E. They also reference SiWinAcc.sys. SATALink Accelerator Driver Silicon Image, Inc. Try updating the driver after you`ve checked the hard drive.

I suspect a corrupt hdd.

0x00000024: NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM

A problem occurred within NTFS.SYS, the driver file that allows the system to read and write to NTFS file system drives. There may be a physical problem with the disk, or an Interrupt Request Packet (IRP) may be corrupted. Other common causes include heavy hard drive fragmentation, heavy file I/O, problems with some types of drive-mirroring software, or some antivirus software. I suggest running ChkDsk or ScanDisk as a first step; then disable all file system filters such as virus scanners, firewall software, or backup utilities. Check the file properties of NTFS.SYS to ensure it matches the current OS or SP version. Update all disk, tape backup, CD-ROM, or removable device drivers to the most current versions.



Go HERE and follow the instructions for testing the hard drive/ram.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:

 

[Splash-X]

Howard,

Thanks for your reply!

The hard drive is an IDE drive and no SATA drives are installed. I can try disabling the driver and see if it helps.

You say it may be a hard drive problem, if I were to get a new hard drive and use Norton Ghost to mirror the drive would the problem be replicated to the new drive or is it just a physical problem?

I'm not opposed to simply replacing the hard drive as I have spares. What would your suggestion be?

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Since you`re not using sata. You should disable/uninstall the sata link drivers etc.

Did you follow the instructions for testing the hard drive?

If so. What were the results.

Once you`ve tested your hard drive, and made sure there`s no corruption.

Doing a windows repair, as per this thread HERE may help.

Regards Howard